Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Jackson Hole=Black Hole

The vortex has it's grip on us. It seems as though we may never get out of here. Ok, that's a bit dramatic but we did leave Casey's house today only to return a few hours later. Rather than take the highway out of Jackson into Yellowstone (the way we came in), we thought we'd ride the road along the foot of the Tetons alongside the Snake River through the Grand Teten NP. As luck would have it, they are grading and resurfacing the roads today which includes spraying magnesium chloride. Apparently this is only once a year, today. They say that stuff is no joke and you don't want it on you bike. So, 30 miles later, we're back where we started. I was grumbling at the fact that it was going to cost $12 to get in. Now, I would have been more than happy to pay that $12 twice to get through. Of course, we could gripe about the fact that we wouldn't be in this situation had we only taken 1 rest day instead of 2. As the Scots say, bullocks! At this point, it makes little to no difference. We'll get an early start tomorrow and, yes, do the same ride since the construction should be done. This time, we will call ahead to check on road conditions.

So what do we do in Jackson now? Lee has already spent the last 2 days mtn biking. I went with him yesterday on a bike that was a bit too small for me and cut my ride short because I didn't want to end up with a broken collar born or something. We have watched a storm engulf the Tetons as the sun went down. Ate at Bubba's BBQ and Teton Thai... wonderful! If we had a lot of time, we'd hunt down the guy we were riding with today and have him teach us how to build a frame. When we asked about the origin of his bike, he plainly stated that he built it. He has been riding it since 1976. He wanted to be a frame builder till he realized that he'd only make $1.50/hour doing it. Pearl Street Bagels is sounding like a nice afternoon event...

Our host here has been wonderful. Last night she said she would miss coming home to us at night. Well, she gets one more night of us! She drove us out to a beautiful lookout of the Tetons where we sat and picniced. She has lent Lee her mtn bike for the past 2 days which has kept him more than busy.

The ride from Dubois to Jackson over the Continental Divide was much easier than we both predicted. In fact, Lee was very disappointed. He wanted a challenge. I had stopped for minutes before I got to the top to put my arm warmers on because I figured I would have at least another hour of climbing. The climbs here are just much more gradual than what we are used to in the Appalachians. I believe we'll be crossing the divide 2 more times in Yellowstone, maybe more after that too.

Dubois->Jackson 90 miles
And we've probably ridden 60 miles around Jackson by this point.

2 comments:

  1. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. Luke and Lee,
    It has been great reading your experience and how your mental attitude and good spirit through it all has not wavered. It was awesome you came through Norfolk and were able to spend a night here. I hope that you are enjoying Jackson Hole. It is a beautiful area and I had a moment of nostalgia when I read you had ate at Bubba's. Yum! I will continue to read/enjoy your blog and send prayers for a continued safe journey. Fondly, Jill(fellow crit rider) in Norfolk, Nebraska

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